Presidio Trust Board of Directors Chair, Nancy Hellman Bechtle and Executive Director Craig Middleton addresses the media to announce that the Crissy Field site is not considering any of the three proposal at this time, Monday February 3, 2014, in San Francisco, Calif. George Lucas wants to build a museum, another group wants to build a cultural center and a third group wants an environmental research institute.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle

Presidio Trust Board of Directors Chair, Nancy Hellman Bechtle and...

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Construction work continues on the Presidio Parkway near the site of a controversial development plan, currently occupied by the Sports Basement, in San Francisco, Calif. on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014.

The one-story alternative submitted to the Presidio Trust by George Lucas for his proposed Lucas Cultural Arts Museum at Crissy Field.

Photo: Lcam

The one-story alternative submitted to the Presidio Trust by George...

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The revised design for the proposed Presidio Exchange concretes on the north edge of the site of the former commissary on Mason Street, but adds a large plaza and raised walkway to the new bluff near the Presidio's historic cemetery. The cultural facility is proposed by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

Photo: Steelblue

The revised design for the proposed Presidio Exchange concretes on...

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The revised design for the proposed Presidio Exchange concretes on the north edge of the site of the former commissary on Mason Street, but adds a large plaza and raised walkway to the new bluff near the Presidio's historic cemetery. The cultural facility is proposed by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.

The unanimous vote by the trust's seven-member board of directors left the site's future open and rejected all three proposals - including the one by Lucas, who had pledged to spend $700 million to build and endow a museum holding his collection of popular art.

Instead, the board said it wants to work with Lucas to find an alternative site for his museum within the 1,491-acre park. As for the other teams - one led by the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the other by architecture firm WRNS Studio - the board said it hopes to pursue "collaboration" with them regarding future programs at the Presidio.

"We simply do not believe any of the projects would be right for this location," board Chairwoman Nancy Hellman Bechtle said at a hastily called news conference Monday afternoon. "We didn't think any of them quite hit the mark."

The decision ends San Francisco's most highly charged development tussle in years. But it doesn't answer the question of when - or what - change will occur on land that has been leased to retailer Sports Basement since 2004.

The site is at the hinge where Crissy Field and the Presidio's Main Post will meet in 2016 when the reconstruction of Doyle Drive is complete. That $1 billion project will tuck part of the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge into a tunnel that will be topped by a 10-acre bluff-like park alongside what now is the Sports Basement parking lot.

That future, rather than the nondescript present, is what stirred the interest of Lucas and his rivals, each of whom proposed cultural centers with environmental themes. It also is why such forces as the National Park Service weighed in during recent months, saying any decision should be delayed until work on the new Presidio Parkway is complete.

According to members of the trust board, though, they want to resume planning the site before then.

"I don't think we'll wait for two years," member Charlene Harvey said. "This is an important decision."

Lucas' high-profile support

The clear loser in Monday's decision is Lucas. His team had waged a vigorous lobbying campaign for the site that included backing from Gov. Jerry Brown, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and, especially, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. There also was support from such cinematic heavyweights as Martin Scorsese.

"This is something that caught us completely by surprise," David Perry, a spokesman for Lucas, said of the idea that other large development sites are available within the park, a National Historic Landmark District.

"For four years, we have been told that the only site available is the Sports Basement site, and we have worked and reworked our plan to make it work," Perry said. "Now, literally in the past few hours, we hear there is an alternative site."

The filmmaker will continue to work with the trust, Perry said. "I know that they take their stewardship of the Presidio very seriously," he said.

Lucas will weigh other offers that have come his way. "A lot of other people have asked us to dance, and we will start calling them back," Perry said.

Conservancy 'grateful'

The response from the conservancy, Lucas' leading rival, was more enthusiastic.

That group helped oversee the restoration of Crissy Field, which has become San Francisco's most popular waterfront open space. Last month, the latest version of its proposal for the Sports Basement site included a promise to "unreservedly endorse" any halt to planning efforts there.

"We are grateful to the trust board for taking the long view about this park site ... by making a decision they believe is in the best interest of the American people," conservancy President Greg Moore said in a statement. "The trust has come to a decision that is considerate of the transformation that is occurring here over the course of the next several years," such as the new bluff.

The only politician to comment Monday afternoon was Pelosi, who was instrumental in creating the Presidio Trust after the Army base closed.

Rather than dwell on Lucas not getting the Crissy Field site, spokeswoman Evangeline George said in a statement that the House minority leader "is pleased the board has come to a decision to productively work with each of the sponsors to examine alternate locations within the Presidio."

The decision comes one week after a hearing where 500 people turned out to see presentations from each team and weigh in. Many of the 96 comments that evening called for a delay.

There was no turning point in deciding to set aside the proposals for the site, board members said Monday.

"We have certainly heard from everyone in the world," Bechtle said. "The only creature I didn't hear was my dog. He has an opinion, but he's not telling."